Gone
by WizardofBio
Summary: Nagisa barely sleeps through the night without thinking about that dreadful night on the beach, when he lost Rei forever.


"REI-CHAN!" Nagisa screamed at the top of his lungs.

He had heard Makoto's yelling and tore out of the tent, accidentally waking Haruka in doing so. The two had hurried to the edge of the dark, ominous water.

"REI-CHAN!" Nagisa felt tears pool at the corners of his eyes, and he ran to stand in the shallow water. The ocean water crashed against his shins, almost forcing him to his knees.

He could see Makoto speeding towards Rei, but Rei was sinking fast. Haruka had torn his shirt and shorts off to, unsurprisingly, reveal his swimsuit. He dove in and was hurrying after Makoto, making a beeline for Rei.

Nagisa felt powerless as he stood in the water, watching his friends risk their lives to save the newest member of the swim team.

The water crashed against his legs enough to force him to fall to his knees. He crashed into the water, propping himself up with his hands and knees, and continued screaming for his friend in danger.

Hot tears streaked down his face, and he could barely keep his eyes open through them.

"Rei-chan.. Rei-chan.." his screaming had quieted as he began to sob, and he sat himself back on his knees, staring out to look for his friend. He could see Haru and Makoto in the water, next to each other, but he couldn't tell if Rei was with them.

"Rei-chan…" Nagisa had only known the boy for a short time, but he had grown incredibly fond of him. He loved the way his mind calculated everything, even something as simple as Nagisa holding his hand as they walked. The dark blush that spread on the dark-haired boy's face when Nagisa did so was an added bonus.

Nagisa had even grown to love the way Rei grabbed for his glasses while they were swimming, only to be embarrassed when he remembered that they weren't on his head.

How could Rei be gone after such a short while?

"Rei-chan…" he pouted, looking down at his curled up fists.

_"You don't want to share a tent with me?"_

_"No, you probably grind your teeth in your sleep."_

Was it his fault that Rei had left? If Nagisa had been in the tent with him, he would have woken up when he left.

If Nagisa had been there, he wouldn't have let Rei go.

"R-Rei…. It's all my fault.. Rei.. Please don't leave me…" Nagisa sobbed.  
"Nagisa!"

He looked up and saw Makoto waving for him. Haru was no more than a foot away from him, and their arm were wrapped around-

"REI-CHAN!" Nagisa stood up, adrenaline bursting through his veins. He sprinted as far as he could and started swimming. He met the other two just a few feet away from where they would be able to stand.

Haru and Makoto carried Rei to shore, Nagisa hurrying after them. The two lay Rei on the sand, and stopped to catch their breath.

"Rei-chan!" Nagisa yelled, falling to his knees.

Rei was still, and his body was cold to the touch. Nagisa, having learned CPR for exactly this reason, so that he would be able to save someone he loved, began pumping his chest, counting to himself.

"Nagisa… I don't think… I don't know.. If he made it…" Makoto breathed heavily, looking at his friend with pity.

Nagisa ignored him, or, rather, he could not hear him over his own voice, steadily counting. He gave Rei two breaths, continuing to perform CPR to the best of his ability.

"Nagisa-" Makoto began to say, before being cut off by Haru. Haru laid his hand on Makoto's shoulder, silencing him with an unwavering blank look on his face. For another five minutes, the two taller boys watched their friend attempt to save their friend, but to no avail.

Nagisa sat up after giving him two more breaths, and he knew what had happened.

"R-Rei-chan…" he said weakly, grabbing Rei's lifeless hand.

Rei was dead. Nagisa would never hold his hand on the bus anymore. He would never run alongside Rei, trying, and inevitably failing, to keep up after a long enough distance. Nagisa leaned over the body and rested his head on Rei's chest. Tears spilled from his eyes, and he clutched Rei's head desperately.

"Rei, Rei, I'm sorry, I'm so sorry. Please wake up. Please don't die. I need you Rei. I can't live without you. Rei, please. Rei! REI!" Nagisa begged, his voice cracking as he started screaming.

"Nagisa!"

"Rei! I need you Rei! REI"

"Nagisa, get up, Nagisa!"

"No, no, Rei, Rei!"

"NAGISA! I'm right here, get up!"

Nagisa jolted up, his head colliding with someone else's. "Nagisa, I'm right here." Nagisa sat up in his bed, his eyes searching the room frantically before settling on the person in front of him.

"R-Rei.. I thought you w-were gone, i-it was that dream again," Nagisa said shakily, looking up at the dark-haired boy.

"Nagisa, I'm right here, I'm not going anywhere," Rei said gently, wrapping his arms around Nagisa. Nagisa buried his face in Rei's shirt, clutching desperately to the back of his shirt. "Nagisa, it's okay, I'm here. You saved me, remember?"

_Nagisa fell to his knees next to his friend, and quickly checked for any signs of breathing. Nothing, not even a pulse. Nagisa quickly began CPR, watching intently to see if Rei began to breathe._

_On his fourth cycle of chest compressions, Rei tensed and let out a ragged cough. "Rei-chan!" Nagisa said, removing his hands quickly and watching his friend sit up slightly._

_Rei continued coughing, and a great amount of water poured from his mouth onto himself and the surrounding sand._

_Makoto's face broke out in smile as he saw the awed expression on Nagisa's face, his mouth hanging open in a huge smile and his eyes alight with relief. Haru stared at the coughing boy in front of him, eyes wide with shock._

_"Rei, you're okay, Rei," Nagisa said, sobs coursing through him again. Rei looked over at his friend, and he slowed his breaths down, his coughs turning into slight wheezing. "You're okay, Rei-chan," Nagisa sobbed, tears filling his eyes. Nagisa threw himself onto Rei, burying his face in the crook if his neck._

_"Rei, I'm sorry, I'm so sorry, I should have been there. Rei, I'm sorry," Nagisa sobbed, holding onto Rei's shoulders tightly._

_Rei widened his eyes in surprise, and slowly wrapped his arms around the smaller boy. "Nagi.. Nagisa, it's my fault. I.. shouldn't have gone out.. I'm sorry," Rei said, holding Nagisa close._

"Nagisa, I'm okay now. I'm right here."

"R-Rei-chan, don't leave me," Nagisa pleaded.

"I'm never leaving you again, Nagisa," Rei whispered in the blond's ear, squeezing him gently.

"Thanks you, Rei-chan," Nagisa mumbled, turning to lean on Rei's chest.

"I love you, Nagisa," Rei said into the blond's hair, leaning back against the wall.

"I love you too, Rei," Nagisa said, closing his eyes and curling into a ball on his boyfriend's lap.

* * *

**A/N:**

So, who all thought I was going to kill Rei off?

Be honest, it's okay. But killing him in my stories would cause a small part of me to die because I am in denial about Episode 5.

Thanks for reading, and please review if you can!


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